Kimberly Reed Photography

Nicole and Mike- wedding

August 18, 2008

Nicole and Mike had a beautiful wedding with so many personal touches; Nicole had placed a photo of each of her grandparents on the bottom of her shoes (they each had 50 year marriages). Instead of table numbers at the reception, each table was assigned a year, from 1984 on up, and each table had a photo of Nicole and Mike that was taken that year (so 1984 had a baby picture, 1989 had a photo from when they were 5, etc.). I LOVED this idea! Also, they had a scrapbook out during the cocktail hour that gave a complete overview of their relationship; photos with captions, ticket stubs, parking passes- it really gave great insight into who they are as a couple, and what interests they share. They had a martini bar set up during the reception with signature martinis (the Mr. and Mrs., the Newlyweds...etc.). Finally, in lieu of a guest book, they had guests sign 5 bottles of wine (with corresponding wooden boxes), that they will drink together on an anniversary.

We started the day off at Artisan Spa in Murrysville for some shots of the girls getting their hair done. Coincidentally, Artisan is the salon I use, (ask for Kelton; he is amazing), so it was fun to start the day on familiar turf. From there, it was back to Nicole's parents house where all of the girls got ready together. I have to say, Nicole's bridal party was awesome. Everyone was super fun, and it was great to see how happy everyone was for Nicole; there was no shortage of tears throughout the day! The decor at the Rivers Club was amazing, and Andy Booth did a fabulous job keeping the dance floor packed all night.

On to some of my faves from the day:

Loved the colors Nicole used; so bright and cheerful- perfect for a summer wedding.

Nicole and her mom before the ceremony

There were lots of tears (the happy kind) throughout the day

love this shot of Mike watching Nicole walk down the aisle

Nicole and Mike's grand entrance into the reception

I think this is my all time favorite garter-toss shot.

The lovely and talented Dana was my second shooter for the day, and caught this spectacular image of the folks who caught the garter and bouquet. (btw- Nicole's bridal party was awesome- so much fun!)

Bridal salon- Exquisite Bride
Reception location- Rivers Club
Transportation- Elite Limousine (ask for Gary- he was great)
Hair Stylist- Artisan Colour Spa
DJ- Andy Booth
Bakery- Jennuine Bakery

Nicole and Mike- best wishes as you begin your new lives together!

xo,
~k

Jeremy and Heather- trash the dress

August 12, 2008

Jeremy first contacted me about doing a trash the dress session last year. Alas, we had to wait until he and Heather were married before we could safely trash her dress. If you don't know Jeremy, he's a fantastic DJ , and he and Heather just got married last month. These two were up for anything, which is always quite fun from the photographer's standpoint. :)

Jeremy invited our friend Joanne along, so the two of us were equally delighted at the creative freedom we had.

Jeremy and Heather had scouted out some brilliant locations ahead of time, so we spent a few hours hanging out and getting some delicious images of the two of them. Here are some of my faves from our session: (Also, I would be remiss if I didn't mention that at the end of the day, the dress was wet and dirty, but nothing a good dry cleaning wouldn't take care of).

These ferns were fabulous.

Love, love, love these last images. How hot are these two?

{August 12, 2008 2:28 PM} abie said: Kim, you are simply AMAZING!!!! Super cool images and props to the brave bride!!!!

{August 12, 2008 3:27 PM} Heather - Jeremy said: Kim I LOVE them!!! They are beautiful! Thank you so much!

{August 12, 2008 3:38 PM} leah said: Awesome!! I love these.

{August 12, 2008 9:21 PM} Jeremy G. said: Kim its 9:20pm right now. . I've been glued to my computer staring at the pictures for .. what ... 6.5 hours now. . I did take a break for dinner.. but both Heather and I are back. Thanks so much!

{August 13, 2008 11:13 AM} Lexi said: Where are these places?? THEY ARE GORGEOUS and I want to go there.

{August 13, 2008 11:14 AM} Kimberly said: That's awesome Jeremy- I'm glad you guys love them! I had a great time and loved hanging out with you guys.

{August 13, 2008 11:20 AM} Kimberly said: @Lexi- Aren't they fabulous? They are by Jeremy and Heather's home near Clarion, PA (about ~2 hours north).

{August 13, 2008 3:03 PM} David Burke said: These are KILLER Kim!! AWESOME!

{October 16, 2008 2:33 PM} karen said: brilliant photography...

Jeremy and Heather- sneak peek

August 12, 2008

more coming soon...

Lauren and Craig- wedding

July 23, 2008

Lauren and Craig got married on Saturday at the Pittsburgh Center for the Arts. I have to say, when I first met Lauren last year, we hit it off immediately and I knew she was going to have an awesome wedding. I wasn't disappointed- it was a beautiful and fun day right from the start.

This wedding was especially awesome because I got to work with some of my favorite vendors: Lauren wore a gorgeous gown from Anne Gregory for the Bride, paired with her mother's mantilla veil. Hair by Damian did hair and makeup, and Jeremy Ganss was their DJ extraordinaire. I love it when couples think of the comfort of their guests when they are planning their wedding: it was a hot July day, and their guests arriving for the ceremony were greeted with glasses of white sangria. How thoughtful! The evening was catered by Big Burrito Company, and April from Vanilla Pastry Studio provided some seriously delicious cupcakes in lieu of a wedding cake. Jaci Clark was along once again as my second shooter du jour.

Here are some of my faves from their day:

Love, love, love this image of Lauren. I think she looks elegant and sophisticated, with just a wee bit of attitude. Gorgeous.

Can I just say I was smitten with these earrings? Smitten.

Jaci got this great shot of Craig during their vows.

This shot during Lauren and Craig's first dance by Jaci

Great atmosphere in the tent after the sun went down.

Jaci got these next two rockstar shots of Lauren and her mom tearing up the dance floor, and Craig's little brother showing off his dance skills with the ladies.

ok, so there's just something I love about the light and shadows in this next image of Lauren on the dance floor.

Lauren and Craig- may you be richly blessed as you begin your new lives together. I hope you're having a kick ass time in St. Lucia!

xo,
~k

{July 24, 2008 10:38 AM} Jeremy Ganss said: Kim the pictures are wonderful! It was great working with you and i can't wait to work with you once again.

{July 24, 2008 11:15 PM} Tiffany said: Stunning images Kim~

{July 28, 2008 12:31 AM} JoAnn said: Kim, I love how you captured Lauren's eyes and I love the play on shadow and light, so romantic.

{July 30, 2008 11:50 PM} Jaci Clark said: Oh, Kim, these images are gorgeous! I love the close up showing off Lauren's gorgeous green eyes! I had great fun shooting with you again. This wedding was such an inspiration and ranks in the top two of my all time favorite weddings. Cheers, Jaci

{August 5, 2008 11:35 PM} Janice said: Kim...Thank you for your wonderful work! You must know that you have a special gift! From the moment you and Jaci walked into the hotel room, I knew we were going to have a fun, enjoyable experience. You captured so many precious moments on such a special night for us. Hey, do you think I could be a contestant on "Dancing with the Stars"? You'll not see another Mother/Bride dance like that for a long time! Kim and Jaci...you're the BEST!!

{August 7, 2008 11:58 AM} beth said: these images are gorgeous kim! I love them all, especially the shadows ;).

Lori and Aaron

July 18, 2008

I met up with Lori and Aaron last weekend to photograph their engagement session. This was the first time we met- they both live in New York so our correspondence thus far has been through email and phone conversations. It's always a little harder when your first actual meeting coincides with a photo session, as I feel like there needs to be a certain level of trust to get really great images. Fortunately, we all totally hit it off. These two are so sweet and fun and just generally awesome to be around, that a few minutes into the session we were all laughing and having a great time. Plus, they were willing to try every crazy idea I came up with, and even offered up fun suggestions of their own. I love that! I'm sooo excited to photograph their wedding in a few months.

On to some of my faves from their session:

Lori and Aaron- thanks so much for a great night! I've been scouring Google for 80's movie posters all week. ;)

Rebecca and Steve

July 14, 2008

Rebecca and Steve tied the knot on Saturday at Armstrong Farms. Their wedding was especially awesome for a number of reasons: one- they are my neighbors and friends, two- they had a very personal self-uniting ceremony, during which a random goose made several cameo appearances, three- Rebecca's dress was hand made for her by one of her very talented friends, four- other very talented friends of theirs: did Rebecca's hair and makeup, cut Steve's hair the morning of the wedding, spoke about love and community during their ceremony, wrote and played a song for them, acted as dj and lighting specialist at the reception, and baked numerous pies and cakes for their dessert table. (Steve and Rebecca have many talented and gracious friends. Steve is the drummer in the band Lotus, so many of his friends are talented musicians). All in all, it was a beautiful day filled with warmth and love and laughter and friends and family, and I felt lucky to be a part of it.

Here are some of the things that caught my eye throughout their day:

a few details

Here they are watching as their guests are being seated before the ceremony begins. Rebecca got a little choked up seeing so many of her friends and family there to celebrate their wedding day, many of whom had traveled across the country to be there.

I wasn't kidding about the goose.

freshly married

watching a slideshow

dancing together for the first time as husband and wife

The owner of Armstrong Farms has this cute little Corgi dog who laid down in the middle of the dance floor during the reception, looking for a belly rub. (I don't think anyone obliged either of these two).

Rebecca and Steve- wishing you a marriage full of love, laughter, rainbows and kittens.

xo,
~k

adventures on the river

July 10, 2008

I've been wanting to learn how to kayak for quite some time now, and it's one of those things I haven't gotten around to yet. When my friend Barb recently mentioned that she and her husband Steve go kayaking pretty regularly, I casually invited myself along.

Last night, the three of us rented kayaks at Mon Yough Outfitters in Millvale. Barb and Steve were kind enough to give me a quick kayaking 101 lesson (which was along the lines of- sit down, and paddle). Now, I don't mean to brag or anything, but it's like I was born to kayak. It just came so naturally to me, almost like I was a kayak prodigy really, that I was a little embarrassed when I quickly left Barb and Steve in my wake.

Ok, that's a lie. Really, the first 45 minutes or so I spent trying to keep from paddling in circles. After that though, I slowly started to get the hang of it, and really enjoyed myself out on the water. It was a beautiful evening, and soo peaceful and relaxing just slowly (and I do mean slowly) paddling along the river. If you've never been, I enthusiastically recommend it. You can rent kayaks by the hour in Pittsburgh (by PNC Park) and in North Park through Kayak Pittsburgh, and Mon Yough (where we went) also does hourly rentals.

I brought along my little point and shoot camera, and snapped a few photos while we were out. I wasn't certain that I wouldn't end up completely submerged at some point during our excursion, so I had the camera safely tucked away in a ziploc bag. The first photo (of Steve), is kind of hazy because I left the camera in the bag while I took the photo. :) The next two, you'll notice, are much clearer, as it was the end of our trip and my confidence was built up to the point that I was pretty certain the mere act of pressing the shutter button on my camera wouldn't cause me to topple overboard. (The first half of the trip, I wasn't so sure.)

Nicole and Mike

July 3, 2008

I met up with Nicole and Mike last weekend to shoot their engagement session. These two have been together since high school (8 years!), and while they now live out of state, Pittsburgh is where they grew up and call home. We met up at Schenley Park, and even though it was a hot and sticky evening, these two were great sports. We caught some delicious light towards the end, which is always a treat. Here are a few of my faves from their session:

Thanks guys! I'm looking forward to photographing your wedding next month!

Mary and David- wedding

June 23, 2008

Mary and David tied the knot this Saturday at their private family estate in New Hope, PA (outside of Philadelphia). Mary and David are both in advertising, so I suspected there would be lots of fabulous details at their wedding. I wasn't disappointed - creative minds like that pay meticulous attention to detail. Here are some of the things that caught my eye:

Mary's Vera Wang gown. The dress in the background on the right is one of the bridesmaids dresses, which Mary's sister designed and made. (!)

I am smitten with the look of a cage veil. Mary looked simply stunning in hers (which her sister also made).

It was an emotional day. Lyndsay was my rockstar second shooter for the day- she took the photo on the right.

The ceremony was simple, personal, witty, and intimate. Mary and Dave's officiant was a close friend of theirs, who got ordained online for the occasion. Since they weren't sure of the legalities of that in PA, the mayor of New Hope was on standby to make sure everything was official.

I loved the way Mary's gown flowed behind her as she walked.

Remember those fabulous details I was telling you about? Check these out (one of their signature drinks during cocktail hour was a watermelon basil margarita- perfect for an outdoor summer wedding):

The paper goods for the wedding were designed and made by Mary and her business partner Jen. Everything was so well thought out and executed. I've said it before- for a really beautiful and personal event, it's all in the details. If you are looking for creative and custom designed stationary, save the dates, invitations, placecards, etc. check out Ice Cream Social, their Etsy shop.

Jamie Hollander Gourmet Foods out of New Hope catered the event- the menu was Mexican food, which included a taco station and mini ice cream cones with margarita and chili chocolate gelato.

A few portraits

These two images were by Lyndsay:

First dance

There were a total of 5 toasts to the new couple. Dave's best man gave a hilarious speech entitled "How Mary saved my kidneys", during which this sequence of photos was taken:

Mary dancing with her father.

The Urban Guerilla Orchestra kept people on the dance floor all night. They were phenomenal!!

Mary and Dave, thank you for a memorable day. I hope you're enjoying Cabo!

Cheers,
~k

{June 24, 2008 9:02 AM} Lyndsay said: thank you for having me as your second shooter! I had a blast!

{June 24, 2008 10:00 AM} Jaci Clark said: WOW, the wedding looks amazing! Love all the details. Glad you had fun in Philly. Wish I could have been there with you. (I miss you.) Cheers, Jaci

{June 26, 2008 5:14 AM} didi said: beautiful, personal, summer wedding!

{June 26, 2008 6:58 PM} Mary Boyko Skinner said: We LOVE them! Can't wait to see more! Mary & Dave

{July 2, 2008 10:31 PM} emily said: the veil is to die for!!! love it! Your shots are just so well placed... balanced... creative.... emotion filled -- I can't find the right adjective.... I just love them! Beautiful job!

{July 3, 2008 1:39 AM} Aaron said: Sweet!! Great emotion, details and some cool style to the portraits - You are seriously workin it!

{July 8, 2008 6:50 PM} Lyndsay Undseth said: I COULD LOOK AT YOUR IMAGES FOREVER KIM, LOVE THEM ALL!

{January 3, 2009 5:08 PM} Anne said: What a pretty wedding! The gown and birdcage veil are just so stunning! Looks like you captured a fun event.

happy babies

June 23, 2008

I had a wedding in the area, so I spent last weekend just outside of Philadelphia with my friend Lyndsay and her family. Lyndsay and I met in college and have been fast friends ever since. Although we now live on separate sides of the state, she is the kind of friend that- whether it's been a few days or a few months since we last spoke - we pick right up where we left off. The last time I saw Lyndsay was last summer, when she was about 7 months pregnant with her first baby. I was so excited to finally meet her daughter this weekend, (who is now 7 1/2 months old)!

Not only is she totally adorable, she is also the happiest baby I have ever seen. The entire 5 days I was there, I think I heard her cry once.

Seriously, how cute is she?